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Stephen Kumalo, a black South African minister, searches the unfamiliar back alleys and shanty towns of Johannesburg for his son, Absalom. But Kumalo's unwavering faith is put to the test when he finds Absalom in jail facing a capital murder charge. Courage, dignity, and sacrifice fall prey to the whirlwind of racist hypocrisy and hollow justice in Absalom's trial. Absalom's reunion and reconciliation with this father, his jailhouse marriage to his pregnant sweetheart, and his heroic determination to tell the truth set the stage for a tragic climax.Read more...

Based on the novel "Cry, the Beloved Country" by Alan Paton and the play "Lost in the stars" by Maxwell Anderson, music by Kurt Weill.DVD release of the 1974 motion picture.Special features: theatrical trailer; an essay by Michael Feingold; the AFT Cinebill; an interview with Edie Landau; "Ely Landau: in front of the camera," AFT promotional reel from 1974; the American Film Theatre trailer gallery; the American Film Theatre scrapbook.

Credits:

Music supervised by Alex North ; executive producer, Edward Lewis ; produced for DVD by Brian Shirey.

directed by Daniel Mann ; screenplay by Alfred Hayes ; book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson ; music by Kurt Weill ; American Film Theatre ; produced by Ely Landau.

Abstract:

Stephen Kumalo, a black South African minister, searches the unfamiliar back alleys and shanty towns of Johannesburg for his son, Absalom. But Kumalo's unwavering faith is put to the test when he finds Absalom in jail facing a capital murder charge. Courage, dignity, and sacrifice fall prey to the whirlwind of racist hypocrisy and hollow justice in Absalom's trial. Absalom's reunion and reconciliation with this father, his jailhouse marriage to his pregnant sweetheart, and his heroic determination to tell the truth set the stage for a tragic climax.